If you want to produce big results in business and in life, then you need to stop pretending that you’re psychic.
You must stop thinking you know how things will go… how things should be… and what other people should do.
You must get out of the business of thinking things like “when this happens, then that will happen.”
It’s just simply not true.
But you convince yourself you can predict the future.
And that’s a HUGE PROBLEM. Acting like you are psychic messes with your ability to get things done.
Look, when you think you know how things will go, how people are, and what they should do, you set yourself up to be disappointed. Being disappointed is an indicator that your expectations were broken, and it causes you to react in a way that degrades you.
This is ridiculous.
You invented what you thought would happen, and when it doesn’t, it bums you out.
That’s like a 5-year old deciding that mom should give him a cookie, and when she won’t he throws a temper tantrum. His expectation was broken, and he reacts to the thing he made up.
It’s the same thing with adults, but it tends to be more subtle.
When your expectations are broken, and when you are feeling disappointed you are NOT in a feel good, effective and resourceful state. It’s easy to let low levels of anxiety and stress creep in. Often anger and frustration follow.
But here’s what no one tells you: when those emotions are present, you are literally blocking your capacity for playing a big game. You are taking yourself out. When you go into these states you block the flow of creativity, options, resources and opportunities that can move your goals forward.
Here’s a perfect example:
Each year you set goals. By “setting goals” I mean you totally invent something out of thin air. You make it up. You write it down.
Then, you begin to orient your actions towards what you say you want. So, there you are planning, working, and striving to accomplish your made up goal.
Somewhere along the path, you realize it’s not happening.
OMG, you think to yourself. My numbers are off… we are X amount of months through the year… I am not seeing how my goals are going to happen! Eek!
Suddenly, you go into a little tailspin. Subconsciously disappointment, frustration, and fear start to take hold.
In reaction, you work harder. You double down… or worse, you give up and declare your goals impossible.
All because you pulled an idea out of thin air called it a “goal,” and decided it wasn’t going to happen.
Now, you are doing the adult version of a 5-year old temper tantrum. Do you think people what to do business with, collaborate with, or contribute to some who goes into a breakdown when they don’t get what they want?
You know the answer to that question.
Look, you’re not psychic. You don’t know how the future is going to be. However the things turns out is how they turn out. Stop arrogantly acting like you know. You don’t.
Here’s what you do instead: Set goals, take the actions you think will produce the result and then be curious. Step back. Observe. Notice. Go “huh, when I do this, that seems to happen. I wonder want happens if I do that again?”
Get curious.
Start to relate to your goals like they are an experiment – not life or death.
In the end, if you are going to make things up (remember your goals are 100% made up), then why not relate to them in a way that makes you feel good?
These are the kinds of game-changer concepts we tackle inside The P3 Academy. Learn more here.
Remembering you’re not psychic is one of the 23 Quiet Mind Daily Practices I teach in my book. Click the image below to get all 23 practices for FREE!
Author
Matthew Ferry